Outkast’s André 3000 Surprised Fans With A Pair Of New Tracks On Mother’s Day

It’s been 15 years since Outkast put out its last album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, and since then André “3000” Benjamin has largely been absent from the music scene, save for sporadic collaborations with artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Erykah Badu, and Travis Scott. But over the weekend, Benjamin dropped two new ultra-personal tracks in honor of Mother’s Day that have fans wondering if the reclusive rapper is preparing for a comeback.

On Sunday, Benjamin released “Me&My (To Bury Your Parents),” a heartfelt song in which the artist mused about his deceased parents, and “Look Ma, No Hands,” a 17-minute jazz track in which the rapper showcased his clarinet skills.

Benjamin shared the lyrics for “Me&My (To Bury Your Parents)” on Instagram, writing “Happy Mother's Day. I'm sure all the cards, dinners, flowers and last minute gifts are appreciated but I've learned the best gift a parent could get is to simply know their child is ok.”

Benjamin’s mother, Sharon Benjamin-Hodo, died the day after his birthday in 2013. His father passed away a year later. In the song, Andre 3000 reminisces about his time with both of his parents, singing, “I was much happier when he was around.”

Over on Twitter, fans celebrated André 3000’s return.

So #Andre3000 shares a song on Mother’s Day about his mom who passed on his bday...& his dad who passed a year later and damn man this his heartbreakingly amazing https://t.co/qVCIDV2STc Just wow @therealandre3000benjamin

André 3000’s surprising return might be a signal that he’s finally working on his long-awaited solo project. Last October, he told GQ he was working on music “for my personal [satisfaction.]”

“Here’s the only thing that I would regret: Man, you know, there is still that album that you wanted to do,” he said, when asked if he’s done all he wanted to do creatively.

“Like, I wanted to put out my own project. Things I’ve been working on. But that’s for my personal [satisfaction], you know? And when my dad passed away, there was mourning for him dying, but there was a whole ’nother wave of mourning because I realized, Whoa, he died in his house alone. And I wondered: Had he done everything he wanted to do?” he asked.

During the interview last fall, Andre 300 also said that when he dies, fans will find a trove of music.

“When I pass away, people will find hours and hours of files,” he said.

But judging by his recent releases, looks like new music could be on the horizon.